TORONTO -- Norah Jones has sailed to the top of the charts with an unbeatable combination of laid-back, barefoot charm and impeccable musicianship.

Not surprisingly, those qualities easily won her the hearts of the sold-out crowd at Massey Hall last night.

The 24-year-old jazz pianist and singer received an astounding eight Grammy Awards and the respect of the beleaguered music industry for her debut album, Come Away With Me, a beautiful and deceptively light mixture of jazz, country and blues sounds.

Last night, she played tracks from that album as well as some covers and new tunes, accompanied by her own piano and organ playing and a stellar backup band, which included Torontonian guitarist Kevin Breit as well as bassist Lee Alexander and guitarist Adam Levy -- both of whose songs were performed.

Jones and Co. have developed an original style that somehow sounds both modern and old-fashioned, mixing traditional instruments and musical genres with jazz-influenced playing.

It's an approach that is ultra-tasteful without being boring or the slightest bit cheesy, and it works on material by everyone from Hank Williams to Duke Ellington to Gram Parsons.

Jones endeared herself to the audience with self-deprecating humour ("I'm such a diva!" she exclaimed after having to pause and get some help adjusting her piano stool), joked with her bandmates and dutifully explained the origins of songs, like J.D. Loudermilk's Turn Me On, which she recalled learning from a Nina Simone album.

Jones' voice has a softness around the edges that makes covers of old songs sound as fresh as her own numbers, which included Come Away With Me, Nightingale and the old but as yet unrecorded What Am I To You. She alternated between piano and organ, but on Alexander's beautiful country song Lone Star, Jones left the piano to join backup singer Daru Oda and the band in a Down From The Mountain-style bluegrass semicircle which continued into the new tune Creep On In.

Other highlights included Williams' Cold Cold Heart, Sleepless Nights, originally recorded by the Everly Brothers, Parsons' She, Jesse Harris' I've Got To See You Again and, of course, her biggest hit, Don't Know Why. They all received the same respectful treatment from Jones -- airy and light but heartfelt nonetheless.

She made it seem almost effortless.

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5

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